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Irish surname

Carey: Irish Surname History & Coat of Arms

Ó Ciardha · 'descendant of Ciardha' (derivative of ciar, 'black')

Woulfe (1923) lists Carey among the anglicised forms of Ó Ciardha, 'descendant of Ciardha', the name of a family who were lords of Cairbre, the present barony of Carbury in north-west Co. Kildare. He also prints Carey under the Anglo-Norman de Carrún (of Carew, Pembrokeshire), so no single origin applies to every bearer. In 1890, 59 of the 118 Carey birth entries in Ireland were in Munster.

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Coat of arms associated with the Carey surname
Irish formÓ Ciardha
Meaning'descendant of Ciardha' (derivative of ciar, 'black')
CountiesKildare, Meath, Westmeath, Cork
Other spellings5
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Carey crest gifts

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Origin of the Carey name

Woulfe: Ó Ciardha, 'descendant of Ciardha', a family of the southern Ui Neill, lords of Cairbre (the present barony of Carbury, north-west Kildare) until the Anglo-Norman invasion; the name is 'still common in Kildare, Meath, Westmeath, and many parts of the south of Ireland', 'generally anglicised Carey'. Separately, de Carrún is Norman, 'of Carew', a parish in Pembrokeshire, 'still common in Munster'.[1][2]

  1. 992Four Masters: Maelruanaidh Ua Ciardha, lord of Cairbre, slain by the men of Teathbha.[5]
  2. 1174Four Masters: Mulrony O'Keary, Lord of Carbury, treacherously slain by the Galls Ostmen of Dublin.[6]
  3. 1760Matthew Carey born in Dublin (28 January), later a publisher in Philadelphia.[7]
  4. 1890118 Carey birth entries in Ireland: Leinster 36, Munster 59, Ulster 10, Connaught 13.[3]

Where in Ireland

Co. KildareWoulfe: the Ó Ciardha lords of Cairbre (barony of Carbury, north-west Kildare); name 'still common' there.[1]
Co. MeathWoulfe: Ó Ciardha 'still common in Kildare, Meath, Westmeath'.[1]
Co. WestmeathWoulfe: Ó Ciardha 'still common in Kildare, Meath, Westmeath'.[1]
Co. CorkMatheson 1890: first of the counties in which Carey was 'principally found'.[3]
Co. DublinMatheson 1890: one of the counties in which Carey was 'principally found'.[3]
Co. TipperaryMatheson 1890: one of the counties in which Carey was 'principally found'.[3]
Co. MayoMatheson 1890: one of the counties in which Carey was 'principally found'.[3]
Co. KerryMatheson 1890: one of the counties in which Carey was 'principally found'.[3]

Notable people named Carey

Matthew Careyb. 1760Born in Dublin; fled to America, landed at Philadelphia in November 1784, started the Pennsylvania Herald, later a bookseller.[7]
John Carey1756–1829Classical scholar, LL.D., born in Ireland; edited more than fifty volumes of the Regent's Classics.[8]
William Paulett Carey1768–1839Born in Ireland, a United Irishman who later moved to England and wrote on art and political reform.[9]

Other spellings

Keary · Keery · Karey · Carew · Ceary[1][4]

The Carey coat of arms

The design shown is a coat of arms associated with the Carey surname. In Irish and British heraldry a coat of arms is granted to one person and passes to their heirs; it does not belong to everyone who shares the surname. Many families still use the arms of their name as a symbol of their heritage.

Carey surname: questions

What does the surname Carey mean in Irish?

Woulfe lists Carey as an anglicised form of Ó Ciardha, 'descendant of Ciardha', a derivative of ciar, 'black'.[1]

Is Carey an Irish or a Norman name?

Woulfe prints Carey under both. Ó Ciardha was a Gaelic family of the southern Ui Neill, lords of Cairbre. De Carrún is an Anglo-Norman surname, 'of Carew', a parish in Pembrokeshire, which came into Ireland soon after the invasion and is still common in Munster. He also says the name is difficult to distinguish from the many other names similarly anglicised Carey, so no single origin applies to every bearer.[1][2]

Where in Ireland is the name Carey found?

Woulfe says Ó Ciardha is still common in Kildare, Meath, Westmeath and many parts of the south. Matheson's 1890 birth index gives Cork, Dublin, Tipperary, Mayo and Kerry as the counties in which Carey was principally found.[1][3]

Who were the O'Keary lords of Carbury?

Woulfe says the Ó Ciardha family were lords of Cairbre, the present barony of Carbury in north-west Co. Kildare, until the Anglo-Norman invasion. Four Masters: the annals name Ua Ciardha as lord of Cairbre in 992 and Mulrony O'Keary, Lord of Carbury, in 1174.[1][5][6]

Sources

  1. Ó CIARDHA — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/oc/o-ciardha.php
  2. de CARRÚN — Irish Names and Surnames (Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/d/de-carrun.php
  3. Carey — Birth Indexes of 1890 — Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1909), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/report/births/carey.php
  4. Carey — Varieties and Synonymes of Surnames and Christian Names in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1901), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/varieties/list/239.php
  5. Annals of the Four Masters (trans. John O'Donovan), 992 — CELT edition, CELT, University College Cork. celt.ucc.ie/published/T100005B/text009.html
  6. Annals of the Four Masters (trans. John O'Donovan), 1174 — CELT edition, CELT, University College Cork. celt.ucc.ie/published/T100005C/text001.html
  7. Carey, Matthew — A Compendium of Irish Biography (Alfred Webb, 1878), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/biography/MatthewCarey.php
  8. Carey, John — A Compendium of Irish Biography (Alfred Webb, 1878), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/biography/JohnCarey.php
  9. Carey, William Paulett — A Compendium of Irish Biography (Alfred Webb, 1878), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/biography/WilliamPaulettCarey.php

Note: Matheson's 1890 figures for a surname include its spelling varieties (Matheson, Table Explanation).